Irish wear down Wolfpack Hatters suffer road loss

Julian Love returned his second interception of the season for a touchdown and running back Josh Adams had another big day, rushing for 202 yards, to help No. 9 Notre Dame beat 14th-ranked North Carolina State 35-14 on a blustery Saturday.

The sixth straight victory by Brian Kelly's Irish, now 7-1, avenged a 10-3 loss at N.C. State last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. N.C. State (6-2) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.

“Our guys were up to the task,” Kelly said. “They continually come out with energy and a mindset to get after the opponent.”

Love's 69-yard return behind a convoy of his defensive mates with 12:05 left in the third quarter ended N.C. State quarterback Ryan Finley's streak of consecutive passes without throwing an interception at 339. Love, who also broke up three other Finley attempts, had a 50-yard interception return for a TD in Notre Dame's 38-18 victory at Michigan State.

Soon after the pick, Adams broke up the middle for a 77-yard touchdown run that provided further breathing room.

Anthony Lawrence passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns and Joseph Binda and freshman Emilio Martinez both ran for two scores as San Diego rolled to a 48-7 win over Stetson on Saturday.

Lawrence, fresh off a six-TD effort in a win over Jacksonville last week, completed 19 of 27 passes for the Toreros (6-2, 5-0 Pioneer Football League). He connected with Michael Keating from 15 yards out in the first quarter and Ross Dwelley from the 8-yard line in the third.

Binda finished with 46 yards on 10 carries. Martinez, who came into the game second in the league in all-purpose yards at 128.6 per game, had 11 carries for 87 yards, including a 50-yard TD burst in the third quarter. He totaled 123 all-purpose yards.

San Diego has now won 18 straight PFL games and is 5-0 all-time against the Hatters (2-7, 1-5). Colin McGovern completed 15 of 21 passes for 152 yards to set the Hatters' single-season passing yards record with 1,949.